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| 2006 Bmw 3-series Review | |||
| Whether you're about to spend $40K on a brand new car, or half that on a used car, it is always important to learn as much as you can about the used car. Read these car reviews to learn about all aspects of the vehicle. Each of the usedcar reviews cover interior and exterior features, options, road tests, and more. | |||
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Introduction
| Road Test
| Inside & Out
| Other Thoughts
| Last Word
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| Road Test | |||
Note that the 3-series is once again stuck with a naming discrepancy: "325i" no longer stands for a 2.5-liter engine. Recent pressure from Infiniti, then Audi, and now Lexus and Mercedes forced BMW to start with a full 3 liters - in this case an extensively reworked version of the outgoing 330i's engine, now composed from a mix of aluminum and magnesium (saving 22 pounds and taking up less space), fitted with hollow camshafts, and equipped with Double VANOS (valve timing) and Valvetronic (valve lift) working a concerto on the lungs. This engine is now common to both the 325i and 330i (sharing a bore/stroke, compression ratio, and a new 7,000 RPM redline), which in the former squeezes out a robust 215 horsepower and 185 pounds-feet of torque.That's down by 40 and 35 from the 330i due to a single-stage intake manifold (vs. three-stage) and different software, but still makes for a quite quick car. 0-60 is yours in 6.1 seconds, as is an even-handed torque curve from floor to ceiling and a bonus power spike right in the middle. Being the only inline engine left in its class, those six cylinders make such smooth, salacious sounds that you often forget to upshift out of 4th gear (and there are two to go, now that all trannies are 6-speeders). Supreme engine aside, you don't call yourself "The Ultimate Driving Machine" without having equal talent elsewhere. Incidentally, a 325i eats twisty roads for lunch. It helped that our car had the Sport Package, now more serious than ever with V-rated tires of size 225/45R17 (front) and 255/40R17 (rear), making for high grip and low body lean. But there's more to it than that. For one thing, this chassis is still perfectly balanced after all these years, allowing either end of the car to be slid out at will. A supporting cast of binding brakes, perfect pedals, stiff shifter, and smart stability control let you take this party to whatever velocity you can handle. Steering is what makes a 3-series a 3-series. Low-speed effort is firm, not wussed out like on other cars, and effort actually builds as steering angles increase. Why can't other cars be this realistic? HDTV-quality signals coming up through the wheel tell you everything you need to know - what the tires are doing, when to push harder, when to ease off - letting you use every inch of performance without crossing the fine line between fun and danger. I felt supremely confident attacking California's serpentine Route 243 at 50 MPH. At 10 P.M. Some cars have more power, some have more lateral g. How many have a chassis capable of mental telepathy? And are any this adept in managing contradictions? I'll admit I stuck to high-speed driving (it's a Bimmer; wouldn't you?), but any car that can knock off 26 miles per gallon even with all that speed at its side is doing something right. (Mixed driving drops it closer to 20.) Another conflict lies in the ride-and-handling equation - the rise of one inevitably brings the fall of the other - but BMW always seemed to possess some kind of Laws of Physics cheat sheet, mixing A+ handling with A- comfort. This time, I'd downgrade the ride to a B because of the newfound aggression in that Sport Package combined with the somewhat rigid run-flat tires that now come on all 3-series. There's a little too much deflection and road noise, and on occasion a bump cuts right to the bone. But you can just as easily choose your own suspension and tires, with the overlying point being that you can sense the aluminum-intensive suspension - still struts in front (enhanced with new double-pivot lower arms from the 5/6/7-series) and multilink in back (now 5 links instead of 4) - expertly doing its job. Appreciated around town was the Start-Off Assistant feature that holds you in place for two seconds when stopped on a hill to allow shifting into gear without falling onto the guy behind you. All 3-series cars without all-wheel-drive also get "Comfort Stop," which got rid of the abrupt braking action common to BMWs. There are other little tricks like Brake Fade Compensation, Brake Drying (for when it's raining), and Brake Standby (for quicker response). Is there anything they didn't think of? Like humans, even the most talented cars have flaws, and this Bimmer's bummer concerns its low-speed operation. The transition to first gear is ruined by a slightly annoying, high-effort clutch that engages abruptly right in the middle, and the journey to second is a little lame since the long shifter makes you feel like you're throwing your hand from the dashboard to the trunk. In other words, this is only the unflappable, undisputed, master-of-all-trades sport sedan above 10 MPH. Aw, shucks. |
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